


There's A Difference Between Scaly and Furry

by CynziDragonPazza



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Background Relationships, Dragon Jane Crocker, F/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-29
Updated: 2019-10-29
Packaged: 2021-01-05 13:15:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21209156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CynziDragonPazza/pseuds/CynziDragonPazza
Summary: Dirk receives a report about a dragon and a village begging for help, and of course it's the day after the real Strider knight had gone on his honeymoon with his husband. But he's a good brother, so to take care of this as a sort of extra wedding gift, he decides to take care of this draconic dilemma.Is it a dragon though, or just a very pretty woman who preferred to live alone?





	There's A Difference Between Scaly and Furry

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dragoneisha](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragoneisha/gifts).

He wasn't a knight. That wasn't his job, he was just a blacksmith, but _no_, his brother _had_ to have taken this time to get married and go on honeymoon with his fellow knight, and of course _now _was when a report of a dragon supposedly terrorizing a nearby village would come in. And it's a dragon so of _course _it had to be taken care of posthaste. He was already thinking of how to get back at Dave (and to a lesser degree Karkat) as he stared up at the mountain he had to climb.

Dirk Strider was fairly certain that the universe hated him.

He wasn't exactly a weak man. Being a blacksmith meant that he had to lift heavy metals, work in extreme temperatures, and have the strength to hammer and twist molten iron into desired shapes. But climbing up a mountain meant he would have to use muscles not normally used. He sighed and patted the horse that had taken him to the base from his village. "Thanks, Maplehoof. If I don't come back, then run home and tell Dave to avenge me." The mare simply nuzzled him with a nicker. Turning to the mountain, he looked for the first handhold, and began to climb.

The sun climbed its way steadily through the sky. The heavy clouds that had been on the horizon finally began to cover it when it was closer to the west than the east. Dirk took that to be a sign to rest, which was definitely a good idea since his legs were trying to kill him. He flopped on a flattish bit of rock and leaned back to look up at the sky. "Fuck you, dragon," he panted with an exhausted middle finger to the mountain.

"Well, that certainly isn't nice, now is it?"

He jolted up and rolled to his knees, pulling a knife out of his boot--faster than trying to draw his sword in such an awkward place. To his surprise, he saw a short plump woman dressed in a sky blue dress, a red headband keeping her bangs from falling behind her glasses, and a basket on her arm. She looked completely out of place. Like, she belonged in a nice home in a nice little village waiting for a nice husband to come home. He blinked twice. "...Uh..."

She clucked her tongue and delicately picked her way over to him. "Are you alright? Most people don't come up this way."

...Huh. He thought his heart only skipped a beat with men. But there was something different about this woman, something about her smile that gave him a flutter. Then again, he remembered his cousin talking about how attraction doesn't always make sense. Like how Rose identified as a lesbian but did have an attraction to one man in the past. That fishy wizard was an asshole though. And then he realized the woman was still staring at him in confusion. "Oh. Uh, yeah, just decided to take a hike and...take a break."

Wow. That sounded terrible.

She giggled and pulled a waterskin from her basket, offering it to him. "And what was that about a dragon?"

He shrugged as he took the skin, surreptitiously sniffing it. Nothing strange hit his nose. Still, he was cautious as he took a small sip. It helped to clean the thick feeling off of his tongue though. "Oh. Supposedly there's a dragon. I took a dare from a friend to look for it and I'm planning on strangling him when I get back. Obviously, there is no dragon. No smoke, no cave, nothing like that. I clearly have been given misinformation, so I am going to make sure to throw a rock at him when I get back."

"Well, I don't know about a dragon, but I do live up here," she told him. "There's a cave that I prefer to stay in--people..." She turned uncomfortable and rubbed her arm awkwardly, looking off to the village in the distance. "They don't like me."

"Why? You don't seem that bad."

"It's...hard to explain. I guess--"

A sudden crack of thunder with a flash was all the warning they had before the clouds above opened. In moments the two were completely soaked. Dirk looked up at the sky and sighed heavily. "Well. This has gone absolutely pear-shaped. Time to be decapitated." He got a slap on his arm for the comment but he grinned, which seemed to soften the woman. "By the way, I'm Dirk."

"Jane. Come with me, my cave's not far! We can get dried off and wait out the storm there." She held her hand out, which he took. To his surprise, Jane's soft body hid her strength as she hauled him up to his feet in one pull. She kept holding his hand as she led him along a small path he hadn't noticed before, to a cleft in the rock hidden by a boulder. She giggled as he shook himself. "Not a fan of rain?"

"Not really--" He was caught off guard with a sneeze, just managing to hide it in his elbow in time.

It was enough for Jane's eyes to widen in worry. "Oh no, we better get you out of those clothes!" She led him farther in, and the darkness overwhelmed them both. Dirk blinked a few times to adjust, until a lantern flared to life. Jane held it up with a smile. "Don't worry, it's quite cozy. This way, it isn't far. So, Dirk. Why don't you tell me what that dare about finding dragons was all about? It sounds a little silly if not completely farfetched, doesn't it?"

Dirk couldn't help a quiet chuckle. "It does now. I don't think there actually was a dragon in the first place. We only heard that there was smoke coming from the mountain and it was seen flying to the mountain. No sheep caught, no fires set, no virgin sacrifices demanded."

Jane laughed, a _hoohoohoo _that made warmth grow in Dirk's chest. "Why would a dragon want a virgin sacrifice? I've only heard of it in legends!"

"I don't know. Maybe they taste better?"

"That's just racist. Dragons don't eat humans!"

"Really? Have you ever actually met one?"

"So what if I have, buster?"

"I'd want to see the proof before I believe you."

"I'll make sure of that! But first let's get warmed up." She tugged him out of the passage into a cavern where a fire was crackling in a pit, a few trunks surrounded it, and there was what looked like a large pile of pillows and blankets. "It isn't much, I'm sorry, but I think I have some clothes that will fit you."

As she hung the lamp up Dirk took the time to look around. It was pretty large, and he could see another opening that led to the outside. The rain poured beyond it and he shivered hard, the cold finally hitting him. His clothes were completely soaked through and even his rations were waterlogged. "Nice place. A little...spare? I thought you'd have more stuff."

Jane laughed, an odd note at the end. "Oh, I used to. But I don't need all that. Aha!" She held up a neat pile of clothing. "Here we are! There's a changing screen right to your left. Give me your clothes after you change and I'll hang them up to dry. Go, shoo!"

Dirk found himself bundled behind what looked to be an Eastern screen. He took a moment to marvel at the beautiful quality, before a towel landed on his head. "Hey."

"You need to dry off!"

He chuckled under his breath as he got to work. Quick as a flash he was in warm clothes that surprisingly did fit him if a bit baggy, and was settled in front of the fire with a blanket around his shoulders and a bowl of stew in his hands. He took a deep breath of steam and sighed happily, his hands warming up again. "Thank you, Jane."

"Oh, it's nothing at all, perish the thought!" In a knee-length tunic and leggings, Jane plopped on the pile of pillows next to him with her own bowl. She offered him some bread, which he took with a small smile. "Why don't you tell me some more about you, Mr. Dirk?"

"Strider, actually." As they ate, Dirk told Jane about himself and his small but decent blacksmith business, his brother Dave who had become a strong knight after their father had died, the knight with even brighter red eyes than Dave and supernatural blood and the eventual wedding between them, their cousins Lady Rose Lalonde and her wife Lady Kanaya and Roxy Lalonde, the cousin with no title as they traveled the world to see everything. The stew dwindled, the fire crackled, and slowly Dirk's eyes start to close.

The last thing he recalled was the bowl being pulled from his unresisting hands and a soft kiss to his forehead. "Sleep well, Dirk."

* * *

The morning dawned with all the bright glory of a storm with no apparent end. There was a deeper warmth wrapped around him, something more alive. He grumbled to himself as he turned on his side, resting his cheek against the scaled pillow.

Wait.

Scaled?

He sat up in surprise as he blearily blinked away. Then he rubbed his eyes and blinked twice more. Nope. That was in fact the side of a pale blue dragon with red scales dotting its hide. As he stared it yawned and looked at him sleepily. "Dirk, go back to sleep, it's still raining." Then Jane put her head back down with eyes closed.

Well.

_Now _things were going pear-shaped.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you like this, my dear! If you want me to continue this, let me know!


End file.
